Little Dorrit’s Court, North of Marshalsea Road, is named after the Dickens character.
Charles Dickens had lodgings in Lant Street to the south of Marsalsea Road as a child when his father was in the nearby Marshalsea debtors’ prison in 1824. This had a profound effect on the young Dickens.
His novel Little Dorrit (1855) is based around the area and the prison. The character Little Dorrit was baptised and married in the local church, St George the Martyr, at the southeast end of Marshalsea Road. The book is a commentary on the treatment of the poor.
Much of the area became derelict as a result of air raid damage during World War II until redevelopment just after the new millennium. The Little Dorrit Court name precedes the later street and dates from immediately after the Second World War.
Little Dorrit Court is one of a number of Southwark streets and alleys named after characters from the works of Charles Dickens, including Copperfield Street, Clennam Street, Doyce Street and Quilp Street.
Little Dorrit Court joins Borough High Street close to the site of the Marshalsea Prison where the novel is set.
Little Dorrit’s Court, North of Marshalsea Road, is named after the Dickens character.
